Ingredients on moon could be used to make water, NASA says

The NASA simulation is part of ongoing efforts to send humans to the moon to establish a permanent home there. (Source: NASA)

February 21, 2019 at 10:28 AM EST - Updated February 21 at 10:28 AM

(CNN) - NASA scientists found that when solar wind rains down the lunar surface at a certain speed the particles can interact to make hydrogen and oxygen, two components of water.

NASA calls the surface of the moon a "chemical factory" after the discovery, saying every rock has the potential to make water.

They used a computer program to simulate how water could be created.

“We think of water as this special, magical compound,” said William M. Farrell, a plasma physicist at NASA who helped develop the simulation. “But here’s what’s amazing: every rock has the potential to make water, especially after being irradiated by the solar wind.”

It's part of NASA’s ongoing efforts to send humans to the moon to establish a permanent home there.

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